Russia

Hermitage Museum

Art Gallery

The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. Apart from them, the Menshikov Palace, Museum of Porcelain, Storage Facility at Staraya Derevnya and the eastern wing of the General Staff Building are also part of the museum. The museum has several exhibition centers abroad. The Hermitage is a federal state property. Since 1990, the director of the museum has been Mikhail Piotrovsky. Of six buildings of the main museum complex, four, named the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage and New Hermitage, are partially open to the public. The other two are the Hermitage Theatre and the Reserve House. The entrance ticket for foreign tourists costs more than the fee paid by citizens of Russia and Belarus. However, entrance is free of charge the first Thursday of every month for all visitors, and free daily for students and children. The museum is closed on Mondays. The entrance for individual visitors is located in the Winter Palace, accessible from the Courtyard.

Kizhi

World Heritage Site

Kizhi is an island near the geometrical center of the Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It is elongated from north to south and is about 6 km long, 1 km wide and is about 68 km away from the capital of Karelia, Petrozavodsk. Settlements and churches on the island were known from at least the 15th century. The population was rural, but was forced by the government to assist development of the ore mining and iron plants in the area that resulted in a major Kizhi Uprising in 1769–1771. Most villages had disappeared from the island by 1950s and now only a small rural settlement remains. In the 18th century, two major churches and a bell tower were built on the island, which are now known as Kizhi Pogost. In 1950s, dozens of historical wooden buildings were moved to the island from various parts of Karelia for preservation purposes. Nowadays, the entire island and the nearby area form a national open-air museum with more than 80 historical wooden structures. The most famous is the Kizhi Pogost, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Moscow Kremlin

Tourist attraction

The Moscow Kremlin, sometimes referred to as simply the Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square to the east, and the Alexander Garden to the west. It is the best known of kremlins and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. The name Kremlin means "fortress", and is often used as a synecdoche to refer to the government of the Russian Federation in a similar sense to how the White House is used to refer to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Indeed, even the Russian President's official website is Kremlin.ru. It had previously been used to refer to the government of the Soviet Union and its highest members. "Kremlinology" refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics.

Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow

Opera House

The Bolshoi Theatre Russian: Большо́й теа́тр, tr. Bol'shoy Teatr, IPA: is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The theatre's original name was the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, while the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre (demolished in 1886), was called the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre. At that time, all Russian theatres were imperial property. Moscow and St. Petersburg each had only two theatres, one intended for opera and ballet (these were known as the Bolshoi Theatres), and one for plays (tragedies and comedies). Because opera and ballet were considered nobler than drama, the opera houses were named "Grand Theatres" ("Bolshoi" is Russian for "large" or "grand") and the drama theatres were called the "Smaller Theatre" ("Maly" is Russian for "small", "lesser", or "little"). The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world. It is by far the world's biggest ballet company, having more than 200 dancers. The theatre is the parent company of The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, a world-famous leading school of ballet. It has a branch at the Bolshoi Theatre School in Joinville, Brazil.

Mariinsky Theatre

Opera House

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as the theatre's general director.

Red Square

Tourist attraction

Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from an historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod. Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia, because Moscow's major streets—which connect to Russia's major highways—originate from the square.

Tretyakov Gallery

Art Gallery

The State Tretyakov Gallery is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Moscow merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov acquired works by Russian artists of his day with the aim of creating a collection, which might later grow into a museum of national art. In 1892, Tretyakov presented his already famous collection of approximately 2,000 works to the Russian nation. The façade of the gallery building was designed by the painter Viktor Vasnetsov in a peculiar Russian fairy-tale style. It was built in 1902–04 to the south from the Moscow Kremlin. During the 20th century, the gallery expanded to several neighboring buildings, including the 17th-century church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi. The collection contains more than 130,000 exhibits, ranging from Theotokos of Vladimir and Andrei Rublev's Trinity to the monumental Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky and the Black Square by Kazimir Malevich. In 1977 the Gallery kept a significant part of the George Costakis collection.

Winter Palace

Palace

The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and altered almost continuously between the late 1730s and 1837, when it was severely damaged by fire and immediately rebuilt. The storming of the palace in 1917 as depicted in Soviet paintings and Eisenstein's 1927 film October became an iconic symbol of the Russian Revolution. The palace was constructed on a monumental scale that was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia. From the palace, the Tsar ruled over 22,400,000 square kilometres and over 125 million subjects by the end of the 19th century. It was designed by many architects, most notably Bartolomeo Rastrelli, in what came to be known as the Elizabethan Baroque style. The green-and-white palace has the shape of an elongated rectangle, and its principal façade is 250 m long and 100 ft high. The Winter Palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases. The rebuilding of 1837 left the exterior unchanged, but large parts of the interior were redesigned in a variety of tastes and styles, leading the palace to be described as a "19th-century palace inspired by a model in Rococo style."

Pushkin Museum

Museum

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Svyatoslav Richter's December nights has been held in the Pushkin museum since 1981.

Peter and Paul Fortress

Tourist attraction

The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740. It is the central and most important part of the State Museum of Saint Petersburg History. The museum has gradually become virtually the sole owner of the fortress building except the building of Saint Petersburg Mint.

Gorky Park

Amusement Park

Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure is an amusement park in Moscow, named after Maxim Gorky.

Moscow Zoo

Zoo

The Moscow Zoo is a 21.5-hectare zoo founded in 1864 by professor-biologists, K.F. Rulje, S.A. Usov and A.P. Bogdanov, from the Moscow State University. In 1919, the zoo was nationalized. In 1922, the ownership was transferred to the city of Moscow and has remained under Moscow's control ever since. The zoo had an area of 10 hectares when it first opened, with 286 animals. In 1926, the zoo was expanded to adjacent lands, increasing the area to 18 hectares. The zoo's original buildings were wooden, built in the old Russian style with intricate wood trims. In 1990, the zoo was renovated. Notable additions include a new main entrance in the shape of a large rock castle, and a footbridge that connected the old and new properties of the zoo. Prior to construction of the footbridge, the zoo operated as two 'separate zoos' because the Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Street divides the properties. In addition, the zoo was expanded once more. New exhibits were opened including a sea aquarium, an aviary, a creatures of the night exhibit, a sea lion exhibit and a section aimed at children. Waterfalls and streams were added throughout to give the zoo a more natural feeling.

Peterhof Palace

Tourist attraction

The Peterhof Palace is a series of palaces and gardens located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the "Russian Versailles". The palace-ensemble along with the city centre is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Russian cruiser Aurora

Ship

Aurora is a 1900 Russian protected cruiser, currently preserved as a museum ship in St. Petersburg. She battled the Japanese Navy in the Russo-Japanese War. One of the first incidents of the October Revolution in Russia took place on the cruiser Aurora.

Kunstkamera

Museum

The Kunstkamera was the first museum in Russia. Established by Peter the Great and completed in 1727, the Kunstkammer Building hosts the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, with a collection of almost 2,000,000 items. It is located on the Universitetskaya Embankment in Saint Petersburg, facing the Winter Palace.

Church of the Savior on Blood

Tourist attraction

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, its official name. "The preferred Russian name for this great church is Храм Спаса на Крови, but each English-language tourist publication seems to list it under a different name. The moniker of "Spilled Blood" is most popular in preference to the likes of the Church of the Resurrection, Church of our Savior on the Blood, Cathedral of the Ascension, Resurrection of the Christ, or Assumption, Church of the Redeemer, or any permutation of the above." This Church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory. It should not to be confused with the Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land, located in the city of Yekaterinburg where the former Emperor Nicholas II and several members of his family and household were executed following the Bolshevik Revolution.

Nevsky Prospect

Tourist attraction

Nevsky Avenue is the main street in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. Planned by Peter the Great as beginning of the road to Novgorod and Moscow, the avenue runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and, after making a turn at Vosstaniya Square, to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The chief sights include the Rastrelliesque Stroganov Palace, the huge neoclassical Kazan Cathedral, the Art Nouveau Bookhouse, Elisseeff Emporium, half a dozen 18th-century churches, a monument to Catherine the Great, an enormous 18th-century shopping mall, a mid-19th-century department store, the Russian National Library, and the Anichkov Bridge with its horse statues. The feverish life of the avenue was described by Nikolai Gogol in his story "Nevsky Prospekt". Fyodor Dostoevsky often employed the Nevksy Prospekt as a setting within his works, such as Crime and Punishment and The Double: A Petersburg Poem. During the early Soviet years the name of Nevsky Prospect was changed, first to "Proletkult Street" in honor of that Soviet artistic organization. Following the demise of Proletkult the name was changed again, this time to "Avenue of the 25th of October," alluding to the day of the October Revolution.

Catherine Palace

Rococo Structure

The Catherine Palace is a Rococo palace located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo, 25 km south-east of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars.

Peter and Paul Cathedral

Building

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Zayachy Island along the Neva River. Both the cathedral and the fortress were originally built under Peter the Great and designed by Domenico Trezzini. The cathedral's bell tower is the world's tallest Orthodox bell tower. Since the belfry is not standalone, but an integral part of the main building, the cathedral is sometimes considered the highest Orthodox Church in the world.

Kazan Cathedral

Building

Kazan Cathedral or Kazanskiy Kafedralniy Sobor, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan, probably the most venerated icon in Russia.

Kremlin Armoury

Museum

The Kremlin Armory is one of the oldest museums of Moscow, established in 1808 and located in the Moscow Kremlin. The Kremlin Armoury originated as the royal arsenal in 1508. Until the transfer of the court to St Petersburg, the Armoury was in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons, jewellery and various household articles of the tsars. The finest Muscovite gunsmiths, jewellers, and painters used to work there. In 1640 and 1683, they opened the iconography and pictorial studios, where the lessons on painting and handicrafts could be given. In 1700, the Armoury was enriched with the treasures of the Golden and Silver chambers of the Russian tsars. In 1711, Peter the Great had the majority of masters transferred to his new capital, St.Petersburg. 15 years later, the Armoury was merged with the Fiscal Yard, Stables Treasury and the Master Chamber. After that, the Armoury was renamed into the Arms and Master Chamber. Alexander I of Russia nominated the Armoury as the first public museum in Moscow in 1806, but the collections were not opened to the public until seven years later. The current Armoury building was erected in 1844-1851 by the imperial architect Konstantin Ton. The director of the museum from 1852 to 1870 was the writer Alexander Veltman.

State Historical Museum

Museum

The State Historical Museum of Russia is a museum of Russian history wedged between Red Square and Manege Square in Moscow. Its exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that lived on the territory of present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty. The total number of objects in the museum's collection comes to millions. The place where the museum now stands was formerly occupied by the Principal Medicine Store, built by order of Peter the Great in the Moscow baroque style. Several rooms in that building housed royal collections of antiquities. Other rooms were occupied by the Moscow University, founded by Mikhail Lomonosov in 1755. The museum was founded in 1872 by Ivan Zabelin, Aleksey Uvarov and several other Slavophiles interested in promoting Russian history and national self-awareness. The board of trustees, composed of Sergey Solovyov, Vasily Klyuchevsky, Uvarov and other leading historians, presided over the construction of the museum building. After a prolonged competition the project was handed over to Vladimir Osipovich Shervud.

Kubinka Tank Museum

Museum

The Russian Kubinka Tank Museum is a museum of armoured fighting vehicles in Kubinka, just outside Moscow. It has many famous tanks from World War I, World War II and the Cold War. The museum also houses many unique vehicles, such as the Panzer VIII Maus, Troyanov super-heavy tank and a Karl-Gerät alongside single production prototypes from the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The museum is derived from the research collection of the Kubinka armour test base, still functioning as such. Most Cold War-era Western tanks are war trophies from Middle East, Africa, Vietnam and Latin America, sent to the armour test facility to test for weaknesses.

Yasnaya Polyana

Museum

Yasnaya Polyana was the home of the writer Leo Tolstoy, where he was born, wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and is buried. Tolstoy called Yasnaya Polyana his "inaccessible literary stronghold". It is located 12 kilometres southwest of Tula, Russia and 200 kilometers from Moscow. In June 1921, the estate was nationalized and formally became his memorial museum. It was at first run by Alexandra Tolstaya, the writer's daughter. The current director of the museum is Vladimir Tolstoy, also one of Tolstoy's descendants. The museum contains Tolstoy's personal effects and movables, as well as his library of 22,000 volumes. The estate-museum contains the writer's mansion, the school he founded for peasant children and a park where Tolstoy's unadorned grave is found.

Poklonnaya Hill

Museum

Poklonnaya Gora is, at 171.5 metres, one of the highest spots in Moscow. Its two summits used to be separated by the Setun River, until one of the summits was razed in 1987. Since 1936, the area has been part of Moscow and now contains the Victory Park with many tanks and other vehicles used in the Second World War on display. Historically, the hill had great strategic importance, as it commanded the best view of the Russian capital. Its name is derived from the Russian for "to bow down", as everyone approaching the capital from the west was expected to do homage here. In 1812, it was the spot where Napoleon in vain expected the keys to the Kremlin to be brought to him by Russians.

Kuskovo

Neoclassical Structure

Kuskovo was the summer country house and estate of the Sheremetev family. Built in the mid-18th century, it was originally situated several miles to the east of Moscow but now is part of the East District of the city. It was one of the first great summer country estates of the Russian nobility, and one of the few near Moscow still preserved. Today the estate is the home of the Russian State Museum of Ceramics, and the park is a favourite place of recreation for Muscovites.

Marble Palace

Palace

Marble Palace is one of the first Neoclassical palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is situated between the Field of Mars and Palace Quay, slightly to the east from New Michael Palace.

Central Air Force Museum

Aerospace Museum

The Central Air Force Museum in Monino at the site of Monino Airfield 40km east of Moscow, Russia, is one of the world's largest aviation museums, and the largest for Russian aircraft. 173 aircraft and 127 aircraft engines are on display, and the museum also features collections of weapons, instruments, uniforms, other Cold War-era US spy equipment, artwork, and other air-related items. A library containing books, films, and photos is also accessible to visitors. Tours are given by ex-pilots. The museum opened its doors in 1958. Prior to 1999, the museum was closed to the public, because of the display of classified prototypes from the era of the former Soviet Union. The museum is located next to the Military Academy named after Yu. A. Gagarin.

Varshavsky railway station

Museum

Varshavsky station, or Warsaw station, is a former passenger railway station in Saint Petersburg, Russia, now serving as the Museum of Railway Machinery. The station was originally built in 1851 for a rail line, completed in 1858, from the city to the Tsar's residence in Gatchina. The line was extended in 1859 to Pskov and in 1862 to Warsaw, which at that time was a part of Russian Empire. A branch from the main line that ran to the Prussian border at Virbalis connected Saint Petersburg to other capitals of Europe. The current building was designed by Piotr Salmanovich in a mixture of historical styles. It was constructed between 1857 and 1860. A church was built in front of the station in 1908; it was later demolished and a Lenin statue by Soviet sculptor Nikolai Tomsky appeared in 1949. In 2001, the station was closed, with long distance rail service diverted to Vitebsky railway station and commuter service to Baltiysky Rail Terminal, and the depiction of Lenin removed. The trade center Warsaw Express has occupied the building since 2005. On the tracks, a railway museum now holds over 80 exhibits of steam engines, electric and diesel locomotives.

Abramtsevo Colony

Museum

Abramtsevo is an estate located north of Moscow, in the proximity of Khotkovo, that became a center for the Slavophile movement and artistic activity in the 19th century.

Leningrad Zoo

Zoo

The Leningrad Zoo or Leningradskiy Zoopark, sometimes called the Saint Petersburg Zoo or Sankt-Peterburgskiy Zoopark, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is located in Alexander Park on the Petrogradskaya Storona. It was founded by Sofia Gerhardt and Julius Gerhardt in 1865. It has about 2,000 animals from 410 species, including polar bears. The zoo was renamed from "Zoological Garden" to "Leningrad Zoo" in 1952. In 1991 the name was retained, even after the city resumed its former name of Saint Petersburg.

Polytechnical Museum

Museum

Polytechnical Museum is a science museum in Moscow that emphasizes the progress of Russian and Soviet technology and science, as well as modern inventions and developments. It was founded in 1872 after the first All-Russian Technical Exhibition on the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great. The first stage of the museum was designed by Ippolit Monighetti and completed in 1877. Almost from the beginning the collection was too big for the space. The north wing was added in 1896 and the south wing in 1907. It is the largest technical museum in Russia, offering a wide array of historical inventions and technological achievements, including humanoid automata of the 18th century and the first Soviet computers. Its collection contains more than 160,000 items in 65 halls including, Chemistry, Mining, Metallurgy, Transport, Energy, Optics, Automation, Computer Engineering, Radio electronics, Communications, and Space exploration. Highlights include the first Achromatic telescope; an early solar microscope, created by German anatomists Johann Nathanael Lieberkühn; an early seismograph created by Boris Borisovich Galitzine; galvanoplastics by Moritz von Jacobi; and early electric lights by Pavel Yablochkov. The automobile exhibit includes a Russo-Balt K12/20 and a GAZ-M20 Pobeda.

Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps

Museum

The Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps, also known simply as the Artillery Museum, is a state-owned military museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Its collections, consisting of Russian military equipment, uniforms and decorations, are hosted in the Kronverk of the Peter and Paul Fortress situated on the right bank of the Neva near Alexander Park. The museum is managed by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Stroganov Palace

Palace

The Stroganov Palace is a Late Baroque palace at the intersection of the Moika River and Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, Russia. The palace was built to Bartolomeo Rastrelli's designs for Baron Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov in 1753-1754. The interiors were remodeled by Andrei Voronikhin at the turn of the 19th century.

Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Modern Art Museum

The Moscow Museum of Modern Art is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in Moscow, Russia. It was opened to public in December 1999. The project of the Museum was initiated and executed by Zurab Tsereteli, president of the Russian Academy of Arts.

Menshikov Palace

Palace

The Menshikov Palace is a Petrine Baroque edifice in Saint Petersburg, situated on Universitetskaya Embankment of the Bolshaya Neva on Vasilyevsky Island. It was the first stone building in the city. Since 1981, it has served as a public museum, a branch of the Hermitage Museum. The palace was founded in 1710 as a residence of Saint Petersburg Governor General Alexander Menshikov and built by Italian architects Giovanni Maria Fontana, and, later, German architect Gottfried Johann Schädel. It was opened in 1711, but the construction continued until 1727, when Menshikov with his family was exiled to Siberia and his property was confiscated. In 1731, Cadet Corps were established and occupied the palace and neighboring buildings. At the end of the 19th century the Menshikov Palace was restored and became the museum of the Corps. In 1924, its collections were moved to the Hermitage and other museums. From 1956-1981 the Menshikov Palace was restored again and finally opened to the public as a branch of the Hermitage Museum with a collection of Russian art of the late 17th-early 18th century.

Central Armed Forces Museum

Museum

The Central Armed Forces Museum also known as the Museum of the Soviet Army, is located in northern Moscow near the Red Army Theater.

Gorki Leninskiye

Tourist attraction

Gorki Leninskiye is an urban locality in Leninsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, 10 kilometers south of Moscow city limits and the Moscow Ring Road. Population: 3,586; 1,729; 1,711. The estate of Gorki belonged to various Muscovite noblemen from the 18th century, ending up in the possession of General Anatoly Reynbot, who was Governor General of Moscow in 1905 during the Revolution of 1905. After his death the estate passed to his widow, Zinaida Morozova. She engaged the most fashionable Russian architect, Fyodor Schechtel, to remodel the mansion in the then current Neoclassical style, complete with a six-column Ionic portico. After the Soviet government moved to Moscow in 1918, the luxurious estate was nationalized and converted into Vladimir Lenin's dacha. In September 1918, the Soviet leader recuperated there from an assassination attempt. He spent an increasing amount of time there as his health declined over the following years. On May 15, 1923 Lenin followed the doctor's advice and left the Moscow Kremlin for Gorki. He lived there in semi-retirement until his death on January 21, 1924.

Kaliningrad Zoo

Zoo

The Kaliningrad Zoo was founded in 1896 as the Königsberg Tiergarten in the then-German town of Königsberg, which in 1945 became part of Russia and was renamed Kaliningrad. Thus, the zoo is one of the oldest zoological gardens in Russia, and one of the largest. Its collection, which extends over 16.5 ha, comprises 315 species with a total of 2264 individual animals. The Kaliningrad zoo is also an arboretum. Sights include not only animals, but also rare plants like a relict ginkgo tree which was coeval with the dinosaurs. The zoo also has animal sculptures, including a bronze statue of an elk and a stone statue of an orangutan. The entrance is decorated by a sculpture of many animals. The grounds include pre-war buildings and a fountain.

Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns

Greek Revival Structure

The Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns, located in Saint Petersburg in the Russian Federation, are significant examples of Greek Revival architecture. Designed by French architect Thomas de Thomon, and inspired by the Greek Temple of Hera at Paestum, the stock exchange was constructed between 1805 and 1810. The rostral columns erected on either side of the Stock Exchange were completed in 1811. The Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange is located at Birzhevaya Ploschad 4.

Khudozhestvenny Cinema

Venue

Khudozhestvenny is a Moscow movie theater opened in 1909.

Monino

Museum

Monino is an urban locality in Shchyolkovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located 38 kilometers east of Moscow. Population: 22,821; 20,017; 18,582. The Central Air Force Museum in Monino is one of the world's largest aviation museums, and the largest for Russian aircraft. 173 aircraft and 127 aircraft engines are on display, and the museum also features collections of weapons, instruments, uniforms, artwork, and other air-related items. A library containing books, films, and photos is also accessible to visitors. Tours are given by ex-pilots. The museum opened its doors in 1958. Since the museum is situated on the territory of a military division, all visitors must pass the entrance gate to the complex. It is no longer required to first obtain special permission to visit. There is a Mineral spa complex Monino capable of serving 150 people simultaneously. Monino is home to VVA-Podmoskovye, current champions of the Professional Rugby League, Russia's national rugby union competition. VVA have won the title eight times, in 1993, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. They were also nine-time winners of the Soviet Championship.

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

Museum

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, loosely translated in English as St. Cyril of Beloozero's Monastery, used to be the largest monastery of Northern Russia. The monastery was dedicated to the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, for which cause it was sometimes referred to as the Dormition Monastery of St. Cyril. By the 20th century, the town of Kirillov had grown nearby.

Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow

Museum

The Museum of the Great Patriotic War is a history museum located in Moscow at Poklonnaya Gora. The building was designed by architect Anatoly Polyansky. Work on the museum began on March 3, 1986, and the museum was opened to the public on May 9, 1995. The museum features exhibits and memorials concerning World War II, known in Russia as "The Great Patriotic War".

Moscow Paleontological Museum

Natural history Museum

The Orlov Museum of Paleontology was founded by Paleontological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciencies in 1937 prior to the XVII session of the International Geological Congress. It is named after Yuri Alexandrovich Orlov. It contains public exhibits representing almost every type of fossil organism. Particularly well represented are dinosaurs from Mongolia, therapsids from the Perm region of Russia, and Precambrian fossils from Siberia.

Central Naval Museum

Museum

Central Naval Museum is one of the oldest Russian museums and one of the world's largest naval museums. The museum's history officially started in 1709 with the foundation of Model-kammer by Peter the Great for the conservation of ship drafts and models. Since 1924, the museum has been known by its current name. At first, the museum was located in the Main Admiralty building. However, since 1939–41, it has been located in the Old Bourse building in Saint Petersburg.

Church of the Twelve Apostles

Museum

The Church of the Twelve Apostles is a minor cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, commissioned by Patriarch Nikon as part of his stately residence in 1653 and dedicated to Philip the Apostle three years later. Although premises for the Muscovite metropolitan had existed in the Kremlin ever since the 14th century, Patriarch Nikon, who aspired to rival the tsar in authority and magnificence, had them replaced with a much more ambitious residence, centered on a spacious chamber in the form of the cross, once used as a banqueting hall but now serving as a museum of applied arts. To this structure adjoins from the south a domestic church of the patriarchs, originally consecrated to Philip the Apostle until the dedication was altered to the present one in 1682. The church is almost as prominent as neighbouring grand cathedrals of the 15th century, due to its placement upon a high pediment, pierced by two large arches allowing passage from the Cathedral Square to the patriarch's courtyard. The exterior walls are decorated with two belts of columned arches which reference both the neighbouring cathedrals of the Cathedral Square and the great churches of the 12th-century Vladimir-Suzdal school which had been their inspiration. The rigorous outline of five helmeted domes, in keeping with Nikon's conservative architectural tastes, serves to accentuate the church's Byzantine pedigree.

Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics

Museum

The Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics is the first museum in the world dedicated to the history of space exploration. It was opened on 3 October 1967 in Kaluga, and is named after Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a school master and rocket science pioneer who lived most of his life in this city. The driving force behind the creation of the museum was Sergei Korolyov, chief designer of RKK Energiya. The building was designed by Boris Barkhin, Evgeny Kireev, Nataliya Orlova, Valentin Strogy and Kirill Fomin, and the cornerstone was laid by Yuri Gagarin on 13 June 1961. The museum has over 100,000 visitors per year and has 127 employees, of whom 43 are curators.

Dostoyevsky Museum

Museum

The F. M. Dostoyevsky Literary Memorial Museum, located on Kuznechny Lane 5/2 in Saint Petersburg, was opened on November 12, 1971 in the former apartment of the famous writer. Fyodor Dostoyevsky lived in the apartment twice during his life: first for a short period in 1846 in the beginnings of his career, and later from October 1878 until his death in January 1881. The apartment was his home during the composition of some of his most notable works, including The Double: A Petersburg Poem and The Brothers Karamazov. The apartment has been reconstructed based on the memoirs of his wife and his friends.

Anna Akhmatova Literary and Memorial Museum

Museum

The Anna Akhmatova Literary and Memorial Museum is a literary museum in St Petersburg, Russia, dedicated to the poet Anna Akhmatova.

Suvorov Museum

Museum

Suvorov Memorial Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is a military museum dedicated to the memory of Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov. It was founded in 1900 to commemorate the centenary of Suvorov's death and was inaugurated four years later, on the 175th anniversary of Suvorov's birth, with much pageantry, in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II. In 1904, the museum moved into the present building, purpose-built to a flamboyant design by Alexander von Hohen in a dramatic Russian Revival style. The building's austere outlook derives primarily from medieval Muscovite military architecture. Apart from the Suvorov family coat of arms and signs of military glory, the facade displays two mosaics representing "Suvorov Leaving Russia for Italy in 1799" and "Suvorov Crossing the Alps". The museum's collections, exceeding 100,000 items in 2002, were acquired through purchase and private donations. The Communist authorities had the museum closed down in 1919 and the collections were dispersed to other museums. In the 1930s, the building housed the AeroMuseum. During the Siege of Leningrad, it was damaged by a bomb. During the Great Patriotic War the respect of Suvorov was restored in the Soviet military. As a consequence, the museum building was renovated in 1950 and resumed its activity the following year. The latest restoration was undertaken in 1995-2000.

Kremlin Arsenal

Neoclassical Structure

The Kremlin Arsenal is a former armory built within the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia. Initially constructed in 1736, it has been rebuilt several times. It remains in military use to date, unlike the Kremlin Armoury, another arsenal within the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, which is now a museum. The building is off-limits to tourists, who can view a portion of its short southern façade upon entering the precincts of the Moscow Kremlin. The Kremlin Arsenal is currently home to the Kremlin Regiment, which forms the main security service for the Russian President, and the longer eastern façade is a high secured and restricted area closed to the public.

Taganrog Museum of Art

Art Gallery

Taganrog Museum of Art was officially inaugurated in 1968, but the basis of the museum collection was formed by the end of 19th century when the art department of the Taganrog's city museum was established. Renowned playwright and short-story writer Anton Chekhov played a major role in establishing the collection of his home city through his connections in St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and his friends like Mark Antokolski etc. The most important part of the museum collection was formed in the Soviet Union time, and features two departments - Russian art before the Russian Revolution of 1917 and Soviet art. The whole collection of art was looted from the museum during the Occupation of Taganrog in 1941-1943. Since 1975, the museum of art is located at the former mansion of merchant Anton Handrin on Alexandrovskaya street 56.

Nabokov House

Museum

Nabokov House is the house in Saint Petersburg with the modern street number of 47 Great Morskaya Street, 190000. It was in this mansion that Vladimir Nabokov was born in 1899. Currently, the first floor of the house contains the Nabokov Museum.

Ivanovka estate

Museum

Ivanovka is an estate near Tambov, Russia, which used to be the summer residence of the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in the period between 1890 and 1917. It was the family home of his aristocratic relatives, the Satins. Many of Rachmaninoff's earlier masterpieces were created in its bucolic atmosphere. A museum commemorating the life and works of the composer was opened there in 1982.

Timiryazev State Biological Museum

Museum

Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg

Baroque Structure

Rastrelli began the design in 1734, and used a Muscovite style with vague French touches to the detailing. The building stands in the cdentre of a magnificent square formed by the monastic buildings. The central dome is over 105m high.

Alexander I Palace

Museum

Alexander I Palace in Taganrog is a one-story stone building in Russian classicism style on Grecheskaya Street, 40 where Russian emperor Alexander I of Russia died in 1825. The mansion was built in 1806 and belonged to different owners. The most significant of them was the Governor of Taganrog Pyotr Papkov. Emperor Alexander I of Russia stayed there twice – in 1818 and 1825. After his death the building was bought by his widow empress consort Elizabeth Alexeievna and the first memorial museum in Russia dedicated to the Emperor was established there. Among the visitors to the palace of Alexander I were the Russian emperors Alexander II of Russia and Alexander III, poets Alexander Pushkin and Vasily Zhukovsky, artist Ivan Aivazovsky, People’s commissar of enlightenment Anatoly Lunacharsky, and many others. For 12 years since 1864 an amateur choir conducted by Pavel Chekhov sang in the Church of Exaltation of the Cross, which was established within the mansion to honor the emperor. At the end of 1860s – beginning of 1870s Alexander, Nicolas and Anton Chekhov sang there in choral parts of descant and alto. In 1928 the memorial museum was closed and some of the exhibits were moved into the Alferaki Palace.

Russian Museum

Building complex